CARY, N.C. – Vermont soccer will play for a national championship. Vermont soccer will play for a national championship.
For the Catamounts, it’s a sentence that needs to be written twice to be believed.
Yaniv Bazini saved Vermont’s season in the dying minutes of regulation and then the Catamounts were cool customers in the penalty shootout, racing to a 4-3 victory following a 1-1 deadlock through regulation and the two overtime periods.
Bazini, Zach Barrett, Max Murray and Maximilian Kissel buried their chances in the shootout while Denver’s Trevor Wright hit the crossbar in the fifth round to end it.
The Catamounts (16-2-5) will meet the semifinal winner of top-seed Ohio State and No. 13 seed Marshall in Monday’s national title game.
“It’s a great feeling. The hard work and dedication that some of our guys have put in for last four, five years, it finally see it come all together — it’s pretty special,” Murray said, a fifth-year senior. “But most importantly, we still have one more game to go.”
Scoreless at the break, Denver’s decided edge in possession, shots and chances finally gave way to the opening tally as the 70th minute neared.
From the Vermont end line, Denver’s Ian Smith tracked down a loose ball and passed it back to Bassett, who blasted a right-footed shot from a tough angle and outside the 18 that looped over Vermont goalie Niklas Herceg’s head and inside the far post.
But the Catamounts, who have scored 19 goals in the 86th minute or later this season, found a way to provide more late heroics on another clinical finish from their star striker.
Bazini timed his run perfectly on Nathan Simeon’s lefty cross into the box. The fifth-year senior chested the ball down and knocked the half-volley into the back of the net for the equalizer with less than 6 minutes to play, sending the game to extra time and eventually the shootout.
The Catamounts stormed to their first College Cup berth with victories over Iona, Hofstra, San Diego and Pittsburgh. Prior to Friday, Vermont hadn’t trailed at any point in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers close at 15-4-4.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
